Strawberry Thief (Furnishing Fabric)

Textiles

1883 (produced 1890s)

Designed by William Morris (English, 1834–1896)
Produced by Morris & Company (English, 1875–1940)
Woven and printed at Merton Abbey Works
England, Surrey, Wimbledon

Islamic textiles informed the design of this 19th-century printed curtain. William Morris, a key figure in the British Arts and Crafts Movement, reportedly fashioned this pattern after watching birds steal strawberries from his kitchen garden. The flattened profile of the birds as well as the stylization of the plant forms highlight Morris’s appreciation and adaptation of Islamic designs.

Currently Off View: Textiles

Artists: William Morris (Designer) , Morris & Co. (Producer) , Merton Abbey Works (Printer)
Title: Strawberry Thief (Furnishing Fabric)
Places: England (Object made in), London (Object made in), Wimbledon (Object made in)
Dates: Made 1890-1899 , Patented 1883
Medium: Cotton; plain weave, block printed, wool trim with tassels
Inscriptions: Inscription (label on reverse): MORRIS & COMPANY Upholsterers 499, OXFORD STREET LONDON, W
Dimensions: 283 × 106 cm (111 1/2 × 41 3/4 in.) Repeat: 50.9 × 46 cm (20 × 18 1/8 in.)
Credit Line: Restricted gift of John H. Bryan, Hope McCormick, and Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Foundation; and the Textile Society
Reference Number: 1992.396

W. Gordon Hunton. English Decorative Textiles: Tapestry and Chintz Their Design and Development from the Earliest Times to the Nineteenth Century (London: John Tiranti and Company, 1930).
Linda Parry, ed. William Morris (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1996). Cover, p. 262 (illus. M.59, M.60).
Linda Parry. William Morris Textiles (New York: The Viking Press, 1983) pp. 49, 53, 135, 155, no. 46.

The Art Institute of Chicago, Elizabeth F. Cheney and Agnes Allerton Textile Galleries, Gift, Bequest and Purchase: A Selection of Textile Acquisitions from 1988–1992, March 30–July 24, 1994
The Art Institute of Chicago, Elizabeth F. Cheney and Agnes Allerton Textile Galleries, Twenty Years of Textile Society Collecting (1978–1998), December 20, 1997–March 22, 1998
The Art Institute of Chicago, Elizabeth F. Cheney and Agnes Allerton Textile Galleries, Revival and Reform: A Growing 19th Century Textile Collection, November 25, 1998–February 28, 1999
The Art Institute of Chicago, Islamic Art Galleries, rotation, March 21, 2018

Kurland-Zabar, New York, by 1992; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1992.

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